In what might cause further embarrassment to the ruling Congress in the State, Guwahati Police have arrested Congress MlA from Borkhola constituency in Assam, Rumi Nath for her alleged connections with the auto-theft racket kingpin Anil Chauhan.
A police team arrested Nath from her official residence at Dispur on Tuesday morning, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) S Deka. The Congress legislator was charged under Sections 120 (B), 212, 420 and 468 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which are non-bailable sections, he said.
The alleged connection came to the fore after the recent arrest of Anil Chauhan, who is one of the key figures in the vehicle theft racket running in the country. Chauhan’s vehicle bore the car passes issued by the Assam legislative Assembly that had been given on Nath’s recommendation. later, police said that Chauhan had revealed his close connections with the Congress legislator and her husband Jacky Jakir, who is already in police custody.
For a long time, police in Mumbai, New Delhi and in other States has been on the lookout for Chauhan, who has been staying in Assam since 2011. Over 20 cases of auto theft were registered against him in Assam between 2012 and 2014.
“We have arrested Nath for her alleged nexus with the car theft racket kingpin. We have evidence to prove her close connections with Chauhan. Police is also probing the fact that Nath had bought a BMW from Chauhan to gift to her husband Jakir,” said a senior police official.
Apart from Nath, Chauhan also had connections with other politicians in Assam and police is investigating these links. “We have received some leads and more people are likely to be arrested soon,” said the official.
Nath had been maintaining that she was not aware of Chauhan’s background as she only knew his wife Rita, who is a Congress worker. On Monday, Nath addressed the media and reiterated that she was innocent and it was a conspiracy to defame her. The two-time MlA had dared police to arrest her if they had evidence against her.
Incidentally, Nath has been involved in many controversies in the last few years. Initially married to a doctor from Uttar Pradesh, Rumi fell in love with her Facebook friend Jakir in 2012 and tied the knot with him, leaving behind her daughter from the first marriage.
Rumi also embraced Islam, sparking huge opposition among her supporters. In fact, a group of supporters beat up the couple in a hotel in Karimganj town of Assam. However, her second marriage also did not last long and she filed a complaint of physical and mental torture against Jakir last year. Police arrested Jakir based on complaints by Rumi and they are staying separately now.
Speaker of the Assam legislative Assembly, Pranab Gogoi and the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee had already show-caused the legislator over allegations of her nexus with Chauhan.